


can we act like we never broke each other's hearts?

by stefonzolesky



Category: Arrested Development
Genre: M/M, gob is brave and tony is his rock, title from the old gospel choir by modern baseball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-24 04:04:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13803030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stefonzolesky/pseuds/stefonzolesky
Summary: “Sorry, Linds,” Michael mutters, tracing his finger awkwardly along the countertop. “Gob is just being frustrating.”“That’s nothing new,” Lindsay points out. Gob tries not to take offense to that. He decides that he doesn’t owe anything to his siblings, and once they fall into their own uniform bickering, he sets out to find some of the alcohol that has to be hidden somewhere in the house from the last time that their mother was there.





	can we act like we never broke each other's hearts?

Gob has become a genius at pretending everything is alright when, in fact, it’s nowhere close. For some reason he’s only just now realizing this. 

It’s not because of Tony. It’s not because of anyone other than himself. In the back of his mind, he recognizes this, but he’s somehow convinced himself that this logic is bullshit and it has to be someone else’s fault. He can’t exactly figure out why.

He doesn’t learn how wrong he is until he lashes out at Michael with nothing behind it. Michael slaps him and tells him to grow up and figure his shit out.

“Ow!” He yelps, cradling his face. Sarcasm leaks into his voice. “You’re such a supportive brother, Mike. I appreciate it beyond words.”

“Shut up, asshole,” Michael retorts. “I’m trying to help you.”

Gob raises his hands in a surrender. “Tough love,” He says. “I get it. I get it. But you don’t need to hit me  _ and _ yell me. That’s like putting salt in a cut or something.”

Michael shrugs. “You  _ did _ yell at me for no reason.”

“But I didn’t hit you,” Gob points out. “So I’m not the one in the wrong here.”

“That’s besides the point,” Michael tries to fight back, and the brothers quickly fall into their usual bickering.

“I think it’s perfectly on the point, Mike--”

“Do you even know what you’re talking about?”

“Do  _ you _ even know what you’re talking about?”

“Of course I know what I’m talking about, you incompetent--”

“Hey, right out there with the name calling? I didn’t say anything about--”

“Will you two  _ shut up _ already?” Lindsay interrupts, rubbing her temples. “You’re giving me a migraine.”

“Sorry, Linds,” Michael mutters, tracing his finger awkwardly along the countertop. “Gob is just being frustrating.”

“That’s nothing new,” Lindsay points out. Gob tries not to take offense to that. He decides that he doesn’t owe anything to his siblings, and once they fall into their own uniform bickering, he sets out to find some of the alcohol that has to be hidden somewhere in the house from the last time that their mother was there.

 

Sometimes, Tony likes to show up at the model home without warning. It catches Gob off-guard, because he’ll wonder  _ (did somebody say--) _ something aloud and then suddenly his boyfriend is there. He’s usually not upset about it, though. If anything, he’s relieved.

Gob pours himself a glass of wine and jumps when he feels Tony’s hands on his waist.

“ _ Jesus, _ Tony!” He tightens his grip on his glass and turns around. Tony’s hands are still on his waist. Gob feels himself start to lose control of his body, and his cheeks get warm like they always do when Tony is around. “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” Tony says. “I didn’t mean to catch you off guard or anything.”

There’s hardly any space between them. Gob slips his arm down so he can set his glass of wine on the table.

“You’re fine,” Gob promises. He leans down a little to catch Tony’s lips. When they break apart, he speaks up again. “I actually really needed this today.”

Tony’s face warps into one of concern. “Why? What happened?”

Gob sighs and shies away from the conversation. “It’s fine, alright? I’m just glad you’re here.” He leans down to kiss Tony again, but Tony dodges it.

“I’m sick of that, alright?” He drops his arms from Gob’s waist. “You can’t pretend like everything is fine all the time.”

Gob opens his mouth to say something, but he falters, because he doesn’t exactly know what he wants to say. Eventually, he settles on a quiet “I love you.”

Tony looks up at him and sighs exasperatedly. “...I love you too. Okay? I really do. I’m just… a little fed up, y’know?”

“It’s…” Gob pauses. “I just haven’t been able to… to talk about my problems. Ever. Nobody has cared enough.”

“I--” Tony runs a hand through his hair. “I know. I get that. But you can’t keep doing this. Especially after you… you’ve ended up with someone who will listen.” He pauses. “Me, I mean. I’ll listen.”

Gob falters a little. “I know. Sorry.”

“I know you are.” Tony manages a sympathetic smile. “So am I. And if you really don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine, but you can’t just tell me that you’re not alright and expect me to not worry.”

“Sorry,” Gob echoes himself. He wishes he knew what else to say, but he doesn’t, so he just picks up his glass of wine again and chugs it. Tony watches him with a frown, and Gob wipes his lips on his sleeve once he finishes the wine. “I just got in a fight with my brother, is all.”

Tony frowns. “Did you wanna talk about it?”

Gob hesitates and sits down, running through his sentences over and over again to make sure that he doesn’t forget what order his words are supposed to go in. It takes a second for Tony to sit down next to him, but he grabs Gob’s hand and instantly, Gob calms down.

“It’s just… I don’t know,” He admits. “I yelled at Michael for no good reason, ‘cause I was pissed, and I don’t even know  _ why.  _ I’ve been really overwhelmed, and I’m bad at… I’m bad at figuring out my feelings. So I was glad you dropped by today.”

Tony squeezes Gob’s hand lightly. “Sorry for pushing you.”

Gob shrugs and smiles weakly, and before he knows it, Tony’s lips are on his.

When Tony kisses him, it’s like… all his problems disappear. He finally feels grounded, like someone cares about him for once. That’s all he’s ever wanted. For someone to care about him.

Once they break apart, Gob bites down hard on his lip. “You know, I’m done,” He says. “I’m done pretending and all that shit. I’m-- I’m--” He takes in a shaky breath. “Do you wanna go out tonight? Somewhere that my family could potentially see us?” Pause. “Do you wanna go to the country club for dinner?”

Tony blinks once. Twice. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Gob says, even though he isn’t sure, and he’s  _ terrified _ , but he figures it’ll be worth it in the end. Maybe he deserves this. “I-- Maybe. Yeah. I’m sure.”

Tony squeezes his hand. “Alright. I have to go, I have to meet with someone about payment.” He presses a quick kiss to Gob’s cheek. “I’ll see you tonight. What time?”

“Seven?” Gob glances up at his boyfriend, who is now standing. “That’s a reasonable dinner time, right?”

“Yeah.” Tony smiles. “I’ll see you at seven.”

Gob slumps against the couch once Tony leaves, wondering what the fuck he’s gotten himself into now.

 

Come six-thirty, he finds himself digging through his closet to find the suit he wore to the Opies, and then decides it’s too flashy and opts to steal something of Michael’s. His suits are a little tight, but they’ll have to do. 

He takes a moment to calm his nerves before he walks to meet Tony, who looks as if he’s been waiting by the door of the country club for the last five minutes.

“Hey,” Tony says quietly, and he greets Gob with a kiss. “You’re sure about this?”

Gob swallows down any uncertainty he has, for Tony’s sake. “Yeah. I’m sure. Let’s just… yeah.” He swallows hard and leads Tony into the country club, quietly putting the meal on the family tab while Tony finds a seat. All the tension leaves his shoulders upon finding out that nobody in his family has been seated yet.

He tells Tony to sit in a booth just in case someone has to join them. Tony squeezes his hand lightly and asks him if he’s okay again.

“I’m fine,” Gob promises. “Just a little… nervous. It’s fine. I’m-- I’ll be fine. It’s gonna be fine.”

Tony smiles sadly and bites down on his lip as he moves to look over the menu. Gob already knows what he wants, so he lets himself go on autopilot for the time being.

It’s Maeby that ends up sitting next to him, bickering with George Michael, who pins himself across the table. Maeby regards him with a tossed “Hi, Uncle Gob,” before she goes back to arguing with her cousin.

Tony’s eyebrows furrow. He grabs Gob’s hand under the table.

“--you lied to me,” Maeby claims. George Michael’s mouth opens and closes like a fish, but he doesn’t say anything.

Tony takes this opportunity to wedge himself into the conversation. “Hey, uh, Gobie? Who are these people?”

Gob tenses up a little, and Maeby and George Michael stop arguing momentarily to see what Gob says and to presumably make sure that he remembers their names.

“Uh, that’s George Michael.” Gob points a finger at the boy in question. “He’s my brother’s kid. And that’s… That’s Maeby.”

“I’m his sister’s kid,” Maeby adds on. “In case he forgot.” She turns to George Michael. “Back to the matter at hand -- I’m in debt because of you, and I’m only out of prison on work release, and--”

The conversation fades out in Gob’s mind and he puts all of his attention on Tony, who doesn’t seem to be paying attention to their bickering either. Tony seems sort of… struck, by the fact that Maeby and George Michael don’t seem to care in the slightest that their uncle is out on a date with some guy they’ve never met before.

“Nobody in my family is great at noticing things,” Gob explains. “Not unless it’s super obvious. Except Michael.”

Tony takes this information and thinks on it for a second, and then grabs Gob by the collar and kisses him. The conversation next to them halts. 

When they break apart, Gob turns to his niece and nephew. He gestures to Tony half-heartedly, still a little dazed from the suddenness of the kiss. “This is my boyfriend, Tony.”

George Michael groans and digs a twenty out of his pocket, slapping it in Maeby’s now outstretched hand. “You’ll be giving that back to me at some point, because, y’know, you have me committing fraud.”

“I’m in debt, and you did that of your own free will,” Maeby retaliates as she stuffs the bill in her pocket.

Tony stifles a laugh. “Did you know about this?”

“Know about what?” Gob asks, a little confused about the whole situation. Tony gestures to the kids next to them.

“They’ve been betting on you,” He explains. “Did you not realize that at all?”

“They were betting on me?” It hits Gob as soon as he says it out loud. He’s been so caught up on the fact that everyone suspects Tobias to be the gay one that he never realized they might suspect him too. “Fuck.” He turns to George Michael. “Who else is betting on me?”

“My dad switched sides last week,” George Michael says. “He was firmly against the idea that you were gay. I think he totally suspected it before, he just thought you would be mad at him if you found out. I think he decided ‘fuck it’ and went for it.”

“That bastard,” Gob grumbles. “I told him last week. He was gonna get money out of it?”

Maeby laughs. “I should tell Gangie that. That’ll get him  _ disqualified. _ That means he’d owe us all twenty bucks.”

“Don’t--” Gob blurts. He takes a second to steady himself. “Don’t… don’t say anything. Okay? You can all steal Michael’s money once  _ I’m _ good and ready.”

“Alright, alright.” Maeby holds her hands in a surrender. “I won’t say anything. I don’t know if you can trust George Michael, though,” She gestures to her cousin. “He’s been lying to everyone, constantly.”

“Takes after his dad,” Gob points out. George Michael looks indignant, but he says nothing, instead awkwardly moving his glass of water back and forth to distract himself. Maeby nods in agreement.

It’s about then that Tony clears his throat and gives a quick squeeze to Gob’s hand. “See? Was that anything to be worked up about?”

Gob shrugs. “It wasn’t really them I was worried about,” He admits. “They’re just kids--”

“--I’m twenty-four,” both of the kids interrupt. Gob rolls his eyes.

“-- _ they’re just kids,” _ He reiterates. “Their opinions don’t matter so much as, say, my mom’s.”

“Yeah, Gangie is gonna flip her  _ shit,” _ Maeby says in a laugh. “She's firmly against the idea that you could possibly be gay. Says a woman like her could never have a gay son.”

Tony snickers under his breath, fiddling absently with the glass of water in front of him. Gob sighs and puts his head in his hands.

“God,” He says. “This is gonna suck more than I thought it would.”

The evening runs smoothly without another interruption, luckily, because if Gob’s mother had showed up, his whole life could have been ruined. George Michael and Maeby don’t bother saying goodbye to them, instead falling back into their earlier arguing as they head out.

 

“That wasn’t so bad,” Tony says as they’re leaving the restaurant, fingers intertwined. “Can you give me a ride home? I took a cab. My car got towed earlier today and I haven’t gotten it back yet.”

“Do you wanna just come back to the model home with me?” Gob offers. “Michael will probably fall asleep on the couch watching TV again, so we can take his room instead of the twin beds.”

Tony nods and squeezes Gob’s hand. “Yeah, sure thing.”

 

Tony falls asleep on Gob’s chest that night, and Gob realizes that he’s never been happier in his life. He realizes that this isn’t that hard, that he needs to do what’s right. It’s midnight. His mother will be asleep. Good. Voicemails are easier.

He takes a deep breath, dials her phone number, and prays she doesn’t answer.


End file.
